Countdown, John Walker [online e book reader txt] 📗

“We’re ready,” Erris said. “I’ve spoken to our military wing and all ships have been accounted for. Give us a course heading and we’ll be there.”

“That’s great.” Alden turned to Alexander. “And your side?”

“I have a similar answer though I’m still allocating my defenses. I should be ready to make a firm commitment by the end of shift. Eight hours or so.”

“What’s the goal?” Eliza asked. “Are we going to simply… hit them hard? Go to their homeworld? Bombard the hell out of it? Or are we looking for a peaceful solution? Do we want to parlay with the ervas?”

“We’ve been discussing that,” Petrova said. “Our assessment back when we first discovered them suggested they would have no intention of having a peace talk. However, Trenik, the prisoner, has made it clear it’s a possibility after all. He stated the militants of his culture are out for blood, but they aren’t all like that.”

“In other words,” Alden added, “we have to be cautious of the civilian casualties. They aren’t all out for blood. And if we want them to come around to our side we have to be mindful of our targets.”

Noah said, “We’re not in the market of taking out civilian targets anyway. So it shouldn’t be a hardship. One problem I have is how we’ll identify one from the other. Has Trenik helped us with that?”

“Yes.” Alexander brought up several silhouettes. “He has provided us with excellent information for our targeting databases. We can identify their military targets. Obviously civilian targets are a little harder… they don’t get built to a standard. But he’s been showing us images of his world and that’s gone a long way to filling in details.”

Petrova asked, “How long do we need to give for repairs of major assets?”

“Two days,” Alden said, “for our side.”

“Same,” Noah added. “We’re close but it would be nice to get a full forty-eight hours before we throw ourselves into a real battle.”

“At least you won’t be alone,” Alexander replied. “This time, you’ll have some serious help. It’ll be a proper military operation. No more clandestine stuff for you. Open warfare… a much simpler task all around.” He looked at the others. “Alright, let me wrap up my side of things.

“In eight hours, I need reports from all of you as to where you’re at with your logistics, repairs, etc. Get that to me so I can update our political side. By then, my own flagship will have arrived. I’ll transfer to that vessel which will become the mobile command station for our military operations.”

“You’re going to stay out here?” Noah asked. “Shouldn’t you return home?”

“Probably,” Alden said. “And I’ve got his equivalent position. At this stage, he and I have decided we need to be available in this fight, Captain Markel. We need to show both sides that we’re in this just as strongly as our soldiers. Besides, loss at this stage would be catastrophic. Surviving as the leader at that point will practically be pointless.”

Well, that’s grim as hell, Noah thought. I didn’t think of this as a final operation. “Are you suggesting the ervas intend to simply wipe us out? We have evidence they enslaved humans before.”

“That was special,” Petrova said. “And only happened because both sides were abandoned. The ervas needed the workforce. Otherwise, those militants would’ve killed them all. So yes, we believe that our enemy consists of zealots that want to wipe us out for offending their religion.”

“But I have confidence,” Alexander added. “I believe in our side. All of you have done extraordinary things in the last few weeks. United a nation. Saved lives. Discovered technology. Uncovered valuable intel. Saved the Confederacy. After all that, anyone who doubts our ability to win this war just hasn’t been paying attention.

“I hope you’ll all join me in my optimism. We are a sturdy people. We’ve got our faults, our failings… but we’re rising above them. Just the fact that I’m sitting at a table with a Gold Empire official is a huge stride. I hoped we might do this someday. I’m only sad it took a tragedy to bring it about.”

Eliza said, “Whitaker was a madman. We can all agree on that. But one thing he had right was that humanity needed a common enemy to unite. That’s on our doorstep. When this is over, I implore you to develop a new enemy, though it may be intangible. Focus on the threats to human prosperity. Fight those. Look toward the future.

“When we have something waiting for us, we struggle all the harder for victory. I’ve always believed this and if we embrace it now, we’ll be defending a brighter future. Thank you for all being here.” Eliza smirked. “Now, I think we need to spend some time going over logistics before we break. I’d like to bring up exact numbers on the screen.”

Noah agreed with them both on their assessment of focus. He felt inspired again. Their battle, what they focused on, would be important. One of the greatest things any of them participated in. Whether they were remembered or not, died in the line of duty or came out the other side, humanity would make a valiant stand against an invading force.

And we’re going to give them the sort of reception they deserve. A bloody nose followed by a swift kick back into their own space. God willing, they’d negotiate some form of peace with the peaceful ervas people. Perhaps even unite with them in some meaningful way. But first, it seems we have to show them our resolve.

They will not be happy they made us do so.

***

Borden hailed the space station, sending a general computerized greeting. The thing repeated six times before someone finally acknowledged. At that point, he’d pulled the ship close but not quite in